Psy reaches new YouTube milestone

A video of South Korean rapper PSY has become the first clip to reach over 1 billion YouTube hits.Photo / AP

Viral star Psy has reached a new milestone on YouTube.

The South Korean rapper's video for Gangnam Style has reached 1 billion views, according to YouTube's own counter. It's the first time any clip has surpassed that mark on the streaming service owned by Google Inc.

It shows the enduring popularity of the self-deprecating video that features Park Jae-sang's giddy up-style dance moves. The video has been available on YouTube since July 15, averaging more than 200 million views per month.

Justin Bieber's video for Baby held the previous YouTube record at more than 800 million views.

Psy wasn't just popular on YouTube, either. Earlier this month Google announced Gangnam Style was the second highest trending search of 2012 behind Whitney Houston, who passed away in February.

Psy said is blown away by how many lives he's touched this year and is in awe of his success.

When he created the video, he didn't even think his base fans would enjoy it.

"I can't compare it to anything else," he told to MTV News.

"In 2012, I experienced so many things; it's been a tremendous year, but to accomplish this, it's really something that stands out. Because it all began with YouTube, and to have [the video] reach one billion views... I don't think even I can break that record.

"Honestly, when I made this video I didn't even expect one million views, because this is off my sixth album in Korea, so I just hoped it would be huge there. I didn't even think about any other countries; I just did my job and waited and watched. And, you know, today, I'm still wondering and analysing its success. Because I've done this thing many times, this dance, this album, this video ... this one just became something else entirely."